"My blade only kills miscreants!" — Sergeant Zhao
Secret Service of the Imperial Court, also known as Police Pool of Blood, is a 1984 martial arts-wuxia-period piece released by Shaw Brothers, starring Leung Kar-yan, Anthony Lau and Nancy Hu.
Based on the "Jinyiwei" unit - the Embroidered Uniform Guard
of the Ming Dynasty, the film revolves around a once-dangerous and ruthless killer who had found a conscience and attempts to escape his former superiors.
Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan (Leung) is a member of the feared Ming Dynasty Brocade Guard platoon, a legion of assassins and killers raised in the Imperial Court, trained since birth to be unstoppable killing machines. But the platoon of guards Zhao - and his father - belonged under serves a cruel and ruthless Eunuch, Wang (Anthony Lau) who had taken over the ruling authority in the palace, and is using the Brocade Guards to massacre entire families of political rivals, regardless they're good or bad. Upon witnessing the atrocities Eunuch Wang is willing to commit, Zhao decides to defect, and ends up being hunted by his former friends, comrades... and his father.
See also Flying Guillotine, The Dragon Missile and Vengeful Beauty for a few Shaw films with a similar premise.
The movie would inspire a remake a few decades later, 14 Blades, starring Donnie Yen.
Secret Service of the Imperial Tropers:
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: The villainous Eunuch Wang threatens an underling with this:"I'm telling you...if you don't hand over your son, I'll cook your families as food for you!"
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The villainous Eunuch Wang commands the Imperial Brocade Guards, and is far deadlier and stronger than any of his underlings, proving himself to be a tough opponent for Sergeant Zhao in the final battle.
- Badass and Baby: Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan had to flee from rival assassins with his wife and young son in tow. In one of the film's biggest fight scenes, Zhao ends up slashing his way through an entire platoon of enemies while carrying his son on the back!
- Barehanded Blade Block: Eunuch Wang proves himself to be an absolutely dangerous foe when he grabs Sergeant Zhao's BFS with his bare hands... and breaks it.
- BFS: Sergeant Zhao wields a broadsword that is twice as thick as the swords used by common mooks, and he's really good at wielding it too.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: Sergeant Zhao after killing scores and scores of people, where many times he gets himself drenched in blood. From his victims, and his own.
- Bolivian Army Ending: The film ends with Sergeant Zhao fighting what remains of the Brocade Guard unit, while still carrying his son. It ends with a freeze-frame with him clashing in the midst of numerous mooks, where the hero isn't guaranteed to escape completely, and whether he survives afterwards or not isn't made clear.
- The Cameo: Director Tony Lou had a few scenes as one of Eunuch Wang's guards.
- Decapitated Army: Averted; after Eunuch Wang's death, Sergeant Zhao still had to contend with The Remnant from the Brocade Guard unit, who comes after him in an endless wave. Whether he escapes the film or not isn't made clear.
- Defector from Decadence: Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan turns against the Imperial Court after witnessing one assassination and massacre too many, and ends up rebelling against his former boss, Eunuch Wang, as well as his ex-colleagues from the same assasination unit he was raised in.
- Elite Mooks: The Brocade Guards are trained to be such; expert killing machines who slays without questions, and will stop at nothing until their targets are dead.
- Establishing Character Moment: Eunuch Wang nonchalantly killing a minister who warned him against going over his authority paints him as an irredeemable villain.
- Eunuchs Are Evil: The film's main villain is the cruel Eunuch, Wang Zhen, who had taken over control of the Brocade Guard and is using them to eliminate entire families of his political rivals.
- Faceless Mooks: The Brocade Guards. They all wear identical uniforms and helmets, doesn't have any identity whatsoever, and exist only for the hero to slice apart by the dozens.
- Fighting Your Friend: Many of the Brocade Guard assassins sent after Sergeant Zhao are actually Zhao's friends and comrade-in-arms during his integration as a member of the Imperial unit. These turns out to be among the hardest fights the hero is involved with.
- Gorn: Delivered in buckets.
- Imagine Spot: The villain, Eunuch Wang, daydreams himself as the new Emperor at one point.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan suffers this fate from having the evil Eunuch's sword going through his shoulder, but somehow he can continue fighting on.
- Leave No Survivors: Eunuch Wang's preferred schtick, ordering the Brocade Guards under his employment to eliminate entire families of officials who knew his true identity.
- Legacy of Service: Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan serves the Imperial Court as a member of the elite Brocade Guard unit, just like his father, Zhao Wu-ji before him.
- One-Man Army: Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan, who takes plenty of names throughout the film, especially in the fight when he slaughters a whole platoon of Brocade Guards while carrying his infant son on his back!
- Professional Killer: The Brocade Guards are raised from birth to be killing machines serving the Imperial Court, and will stop at nothing to assasinate their targets.
- Punched Across the Room: When an imperial minister attempts to deliver a stern warning towards Eunuch Wang's dictatorial policies rightn into the villain's face, the Eunuch, not impressed, responds by slapping the minister with enough force to send him flying across the room. The minister ends up hitting a wall and dying.
- Roofhopping: In the assasination on a magistrate scene, this is how the Brocade Guards travels around, hopping over the roof of buildings to infiltrate their target's homes from the ceiling.
- Slave Brand: All the Brocade Guards bears the brand of an Imperial seal burnt into their shoulders, the moment they've completed their initiation. And from that point onwards, they will be expected to kill and massacre without questions.
- Sword Fight: Sergeant Zhao Bu-fan gets into plenty of these, and is a damn fine Master Swordsman to boot.
- Uncertain Doom: Sergeant Zhao at the end of the film. Surrounded by hordes and hordes of Brocade Guard, fighting his way out... freeze-frame, and roll credits.
- Undying Loyalty: The Brocade Guards are trained since birth to be loyal to the court, and value their loyalty over their lives.
- We Have Reserves: The Brocade Guard unit never seem to run out of mooks to be slain by Sergeant Zhao.
- White Shirt of Death: Eunuch Wang wears white in all his scenes, including his final moments where he gets a broken blade shoved through his neck after a lengthy and intense fight. His robes gets plenty of red on it by the time it's over, of course.
- Wire Fu: Most of the fights, unsurprisingly.
- Wuxia
- Zerg Rush: When it's clear that the Brocade Guards aren't enough to defeat Sergeant Zhao, they then resort o throwing their numbers in an attempt to overwhelm him.
